Food Revolution (every) Day: Ten weeks of cooking real food with kids

Those of you who read here regularly will know I teach a once a week cooking club called Les Petits Chefs. But did you know that two terms a year, I also host a cooking club for younger students (Grades 3 and 4)? This term, the Cooking Basics boys cooked their way through versions of Jamie Oliver’s 10 “Must Know” recipes – the focus of this year’s Food Revolution Day in May. My goal for this club was to teach them some easy, tasty dishes that they can make from scratch in under an hour that will set them up with a solid repertoire of meals to cook for themselves and their parents. Here’s a look at what we made!

Week 1: Veggie noodle stir fry

The boys practised precise knife skills this week as they chopped and diced their way through carrots, broccoli, garlic, ginger, cilantro, peppers, onions and tofu! We talked about the importance of making sure everything would cook at the same rate and how the size of the vegetables would affect this. They did a GREAT job and made a colourful veggie-laden dish that in many cases didn’t even make it home (I saw boys devouring this as they waited to be picked up)! A wonderful way to show them how easy “homemade takeout” is (and so much healthier!). Check out the recipe here.

Week 2:Simple hummus, crudité and flatbreads.

The boys were busy this week as they completed three recipes in an hour! We made Jamie’s simple hummus, Jamie’s flatbreads and chopped a lot of fresh vegetables to make a beautiful, tasty and healthy plate of food. Even those boys with “vegetable allergies” gobbled this up! So much better than the store bought version and – those flatbreads? “Just like the ones you buy” according to one boy!

Week 3:Minestrone soup.

The boys couldn’t WAIT to get their hands on the Minestrone Soup this week. I was utterly thrilled with their fabulous knife skills (beautifully evenly diced veggies) and enthusiasm for everything – “THIS SMELLS SO GOOD” “You can give me extra if you like” Out of the mouths of babes, as they say. If they cook it they will eat it. Get the recipe here.

Week 4: Jamie’s tomato soup, green salad and a “jam jar” dressing.

At the request of one of the boys, we made tomato soup “from scratch” this week. The boys were surprised to see that it is not just made of tomatoes (carrots, onions, celery and garlic go in there as well as some basil) and were also pleasantly surprised to see how easy it is to make at home! We also enjoyed composing a green salad from various leaves and herbs and made our own salad dressing. Dinner for 12 in under an hour? No problem for these guys!

Week 5: Making chocolates!

We interrupted our regularly scheduled programming this week as The Cooking Basics Boys made chocolates! The boys joined forces with the “Tinkering Club” who spent the term designing and producing their own chocolate molds and we were lucky enough to have The Chocolate Doctor come and work with us to show us how to properly temper chocolate (and she brought some pretty cool molds for the boys to use as well!). Cacao Barry sent a whole load of chocolates for the boys to taste and work with – they were in absolute heaven! Thank you so much Lianne Hubbard for teeing up our awesome instructor and the chocolate! What a delicious lesson!

Week 6: Omelettes

An omelette is my “go to” dish for dinner when there *really* is nothing to eat in the house. It’s a great thing to know how to make and a wonderful way to use up small amounts of produce, cheese or meats. The boys chopped away, preparing lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, bacon and cheese and we made variations on omelettes – rolled “wrap” type omelettes (you can get the recipe for that here) and traditional folded ones. A tasty (and pretty!) lesson!

Think you can’t make dinner in an hour? The Cooking Basics boys proved you can this week when they made a roast chicken dinner. We used Emeril’s recipe for oven roasted chicken wings, and Jamie Oliver’s pesto (subbbing in pumpkin seeds for pine nuts and arugula for basil). SUCH a tasty class! And dinner in an hour is totally do-able!

Week 8: (French) Food Revolution Day!

Both the Cooking Basics and Petits Chefs members made quiche to celebrate Food Revolution Day on May 20th. I chose quiche as a “must know” French recipe and both groups of boys had a wonderful time making pastry and choosing their own fillings. We even got to taste all our combinations before we added them to make sure they would work! For more details, read my complete writeup here.

Week 9: Chicken and vegetable curry!

This week the boys cooked a version of Jamie Oliver’s curry – with chicken instead of lamb and a fava bean/ chickpea mix instead of just chick peas. The boys did a wonderful job chopping onions and garlic and two of the boys took on the raw chicken like champions! The lab smelled SO good with the curry spices!

This is so awesome on so many levels! The boys did an amazing job. I love that the kids got right in there and made their own food. We need to see more programs (or clubs) doing this.
So beneficial for the kids. I’m going to have to try out some of these recipes too. They look yummy! Especially that curry.

I TOTALLY LOVE this concept. I try and get my 4 year old grandson to help me in the kitchen as much as possible. He keeps saying “Gramma you’re a good cooker”. The sooner they learn to cook, and all about food…the better.

What a great repertoire of dishes! I firmly believe everyone should know how to whip up a few simple dishes, but having an arsenal of 10 different dishes under their belts is very impressive indeed. Those boys will be set for life! 🙂 Can’t wait to see what next year’s crop of Petit Chefs will get up to.

Mardi, I love everything about this – the food, the goals, the approach – it’s honestly fantastic. I think a culinary education is of incredible, and often underappreciated importance in this world (and I say that as an educator myself). Knowing how to feed yourself well is of such great importance, but it’s also a gateway to a better understanding of the world around us.

Oh my goodness, this is adorable! I’m blown away by what these little men can do. It’s amazing how some people can be so scared of cooking, but a group of young, fearless kids can create adult-worthy recipes!